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Sheep and the Goats "Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, © Copyright 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation Used by permission." (www.Lockman.org) Sheep And The Goats Introduction. 1. One of the most thought-provoking parables of Jesus is “The Parable Of The Sheep And The Goats.” 2. It is found in Matthew 25:31-46, and follows “The Parable of the Ten Virgins and “The Parable of the Talents.” a. All three parables are found only in Matthew’s gospel. b. All three parables set forth truths concerning the second coming of the Lord. 3. It actually concludes a series of seven parables going back to Matthew 21. 4. It is a powerful parable that teaches a number of vital lessons including the fact that many will unexpectedly be condemned in the judgment. 5. It echoes Matthew 7:21-23. MAT 7:21 "Not everyone who says to Me, 'Lord, Lord,' will enter the kingdom of heaven; but he who does the will of My Father who is in heaven. MAT 7:22 "Many will say to Me on that day, 'Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name cast out demons, and in Your name perform many miracles?' MAT 7:23 "And then I will declare to them, 'I never knew you; depart from Me, you who practice lawlessness.' • These viewed themselves as religious people and had done some amazing things in the Lord’s name. • Jesus did not deny their claims, but said “I never knew you; depart from Me...” • They were condemned because they had not done “the will” of God. • It is possible to do good things and even miraculous things, but still be ignoring “the will” of God in some or many areas of our lives. • Even having the power to “prophesy” and do miracles without doing “the will” of God was futile. Lessons 1. It teaches that a day of judgment is coming, and it presents Jesus as the Judge. See Matt. 25:31, 32; Acts 17:31; 2 Cor. 5:10. MAT 25:31 "But when the Son of Man comes in His glory, and all the angels with Him, then He will sit on His glorious throne. Jesus here speaks of “the Son of Man” as King. MAT 25:32 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; ACT 17:31 because He has fixed a day in which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He 1 has appointed, having furnished proof to all men by raising Him from the dead. " 2CO 5:10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may be recompensed for his deeds in the body, according to what he has done, whether good or bad. a. Jesus speaks of His coming with “all the angels. (Matt. 25:31). 1) See Matt. 13: 49, 50; 16:27 MAT 13:49 "So it will be at the end of the age; the angels shall come forth, and take out the wicked from among the righteous, The “field” is “the world (Matt. 13:38) - not the church. MAT 13:50 and will cast them into the furnace of fire; there shall be weeping and gnashing of teeth. MAT 16:27 "For the Son of Man is going to come in the glory of His Father with His angels; and will then recompense every man according to his deeds. 2) See 1 Thess. 4:16; Jude 14. 1TH 4:16 For the Lord Himself will descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trumpet of God; and the dead in Christ shall rise first. JUD 1:14 And about these also Enoch, in the seventh generation from Adam, prophesied, saying, "Behold, the Lord came with many thousands of His holy ones, This verse shows the “all” of Matthew 25:31 is a hyperbole meaning a vast number of angels. Angels are innumerable. (Dan. 7:10; Heb. 12:22; Rev. 5:11). The language of the verses suggest there are hundreds of millions of angels. b. This will be a glorious time for Jesus. 1) He will come “in his glory.” (Matt. 26:64; 16:27; 19:28). See Matt. 24:30, 31. 2) His life of humiliation is over. (Phil. 2:5-11). PHI 2:5 Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, PHI 2:6 who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, PHI 2:7 but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. PHI 2:8 And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. PHI 2:9 Therefore also God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, PHI 2:10 that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those who are in heaven, and on earth, and under the earth, PHI 2:11 and that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. • Jesus will never again experience suffering and pain. • Jesus will never again suffer humiliation and death. 3) He comes “in His glory” and He comes as “King”. (Matt. 25:34). MAT 25:34 "Then the King will say to those on His right, 'Come, you who are blessed of My Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 4) He is coming to take home the faithful who have trusted in Him and His blood. They will ascend to be with 2 Him forever. (1 Thess. 4:18; Matt. 25:46; Tit. 1:2; Rev. 22:5). c. “He will sit on His glorious throne.” - He will sit on His “glorious throne” as Ruler and as Judge. This is a judgment scene. 1) He is now reigning at the right hand of God. (Acts 2:33, 34; Heb. 1:3). 2) This “glorious throne” is the same throne as the “the judgment seat of Christ.” (2 Cor. 5:10). 3) Jesus is a glorious King, and He is also the Judge. 4) All must appear before Christ when He comes again. Note on Matthew 25:32: MAT 25:32 "And all the nations will be gathered before Him; and He will separate them from one another, as the shepherd separates the sheep from the goats; • “all the nations” shows the gospel and Christianity will be widespread, universal. 1) Some view the word “nations” to be describing Gentiles only, but this suggests that Gentiles will be saved or lost on the basis of how they have treated Christians. This ignores the fact that Gentiles had to obey Christ and the gospel to be saved. (Jn. 14:6; Rom. 1:16). Jesus is not giving Gentiles another way to be saved. 2) Others view the word “nations” to be a reference to all humanity, but the weakness of this view will be pointed out in detail later in this lesson. • This suggests that men will be saved on the basis of how they have treated Christians and ignores Christ and the gospel. • Unbelievers will be condemned because of their rejection of Christ. • Benevolence to non-Christians or to Christians will not substitute for obedience to Christ. (Matt. 7:21; Heb. 5:9. 3) Others view the word “nations” to be, in this context, a reference to believers, Christians from “all the nations.” • This includes both Jews and Gentiles. (Acts 10:34, 35; Heb. 2:9). • This appears to be the correct view. 4) Jesus is stressing to believers how important it is to help believers. It is not an option, but is absolutely essential. • Christ will not come again until the gospel has been preached to all nations. (Matt. 24:14). • This does not mean that the gospel will only once be preached to all nations. • The gospel was preached to the known world in Paul’s day. See Col. 1:23. These words were written about A.D. 62. • There is nothing to prevent Christ from coming now. There is nothing to keep the gospel from being preached to all the nations today. 3 • Christ expects every generation to fulfill the Great Commission. (Matt. 28:19,20; Mk. 16:15; Acts 1:8-11; Col. 1:23). MAR 16:15 And He said to them, "Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation. MAT 28:19 "Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, MAT 28:20 teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age. " ACT 1:8 but you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and even to the remotest part of the earth. " COL 1:23 if indeed you continue in the faith firmly established and steadfast, and not moved away from the hope of the gospel that you have heard, which was proclaimed in all creation under heaven, and of which I, Paul, was made a minister.
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